Robberies and Thefts

News about Robberies and Thefts, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 29, 2015

Craig and Sandra Sifford, son and former daughter-in-law of Charlie Sifford, first black golfer with full-time playing privileges on PGA Tour, are charged with stealing over $1 million from him starting in 2010. MORE

Jul. 22, 2015

The worker was detained in the disappearance of 43 16th-century engravings valued $4.4 million one of two thefts discovered at the library this year. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

Prosecutors dismiss criminal charges against Utah football player Dominique Hatfield after evidence emerges that he was not person who used knife in robbery, but leave open possibility of other criminal charges in connection with incident. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

Former Harrisburg, Pa, Mayor Stephen Reed is arrested on corruption charges, including hundreds of counts of theft and misuse of government funds and property for buying thousands of artifacts for plan to open Wild West museum, which never happened. MORE

Jul. 11, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column examines escalating game of cat-and-mouse between managers of sneaker stores in Brooklyn and thieves who and are finding increasingly creative ways to steal shoes, even if it is one sneaker at a time; recounts interview with manager of a Foot Locker, which included a visit to a room lined with shelves holding only left-foot sneakers. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Michael Adams, Stephen Adams and Zubearu Bettis are arrested on charges in connection with murder of New York City shopkeeper Bubacarr Camara during robbery attempt. MORE

Jul. 8, 2015

French Defense Ministry reports theft of explosives from military base in south of France, despite heightened security following June terrorist attack on an American-owned chemical plant in Lyon; ministry says stolen explosives and detonators can be used to make a bomb. MORE

Jul. 7, 2015

Theft of plaque marking birthplace of 19th-century photojournalist Matthew B Brady in Adirondack town of Johnsburg, NY, has baffled police and angered many residents; Brady is known for capturing horrors of Civil War battlefields, as well as iconic images of Pres Abraham Lincoln. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

Sanitation worker and former Marine Curtis Jackson thwarts robbery at Manhattan convenience store while on way to Midtown to empty wastebaskets; restrains would-be robber until police arrive. MORE

Jun. 24, 2015

Two British teenagers are charged with stealing artifacts from former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps that were at state museum. MORE

Jun. 21, 2015

Op-Ed article by Karl E Meyer calls attention to fact that Chinese government, state-run companies, private networks and even Chinese criminal networks are engaged in effort to buy up Chinese antiquities to bring them back home; notes that effort differs from those in other countries as instead of making formal demands, Chinese entities simply buy antiquities at auctions; observes that there has been string of thefts of Chinese antiquities that were not likely to go to auction. MORE

Jun. 15, 2015

Off-duty Corrections Officer Alfredo Perez shoots and kills armed man who demanded that Perez and four others hand over keys to their motorcycles; incident occurred outside members-only motorcycle club NWO Clubhouse in Ozone Park, Queens. MORE

Jun. 5, 2015

Two workers at Boys Town home in Brooklyn are fired after investigation shows they falsified logbooks meant to keep track of residents; forging could have compromised security night that teenagers Sanaat Asliev, Emanuel Burrowes and Eric Pek are alleged to have left home and raped and robbed woman in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

New York City's Admin for Children's Services shuts down group home for boys in Brooklyn after three residents are accused of sneaking out and raping, robbing and beating a woman in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood; home is run by the Boys Town organization. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

New York City Police Officer Ymmacula Pierre pleads not guilty after being arrested and charged with stealing dead man's credit card to buy diamond ring online; card belonged to man who Pierre had found dead in his apartment while conducting wellness check. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

Teenagers Eric Pek, Emanuel Burrows and Sanat Asliev are arrested and charged as adults for assault, rape and robbery of woman in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood; police track boys, who were caught by surveillance cameras at all-night deli and in woman's apartment building, to residence in Brooklyn run by Boys Town organization. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Claire Nee Gray Matter column describes study she conducted using simulated environment to find out how and why burglars commit burglaries, which was published in journal Psychology, Crime and Law; suggests that simulated environments hold vast potential for understanding criminal behavior. MORE

May. 30, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column on Elias Lifshitz, owner of Lifshitz Gallery on East 77th Street in Manhattan, who remains committed to his small business of restoring watches bought at flea markets, despite burglary in which 450 watches were stolen; notes man identified as Arsen Canaj has been charged with burglary, many elements of which remain unexplained. MORE

May. 28, 2015

Investigation into power loss by A-line subway train in Brooklyn leads to discovery that at least 500 feet of copper cable had been stolen from tracks in dozen spots; theft wreaks havoc on morning commute and causes delays along line. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Rutgers defensive back Darian Dailey is arrested in Florida, charged with robbery with a firearm. MORE

May. 23, 2015

Eiffel Tower workers close monument to protest lack of security for visitors and staff in response to problem of pickpockets, which has been growing. MORE

May. 22, 2015

New York City police release surveillance video of man they suspect has snatched phones or pocketbooks from women in Midtown Manhattan, then escaped on bicycle. MORE

May. 20, 2015

Nine men thought to have staged robbery in London’s diamond district over Easter weekend are arrested in raids in London and Kent by more than 200 police officers. MORE

May. 13, 2015

Three or four men in suits smash display case at Madison Avenue luxury watch store Tourneau and escape with some items; one suspect is taken into custody and police continue search for others. MORE

May. 13, 2015

Former New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra celebrates 90th birthday; Major League Baseball replaces his World Series rings and Most Valuable Player Award plaques that were stolen from museum with replicas. MORE

May. 3, 2015

Auburn defensive end Elijah Daniel, who was arrested in connection with dorm room burglary, is dismissed from team. MORE

Apr. 25, 2015

Federal investigators believe that ailing 79-year-old Robert Gentile could be last living link to 1990 theft of masterpieces at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, considered largest art heist in American history; say Gentile, who has ties to Philadelphia Mafia, had boasted to confidential informant that he had access to two of the stolen paintings, and may know whereabouts of entire cache. MORE

Apr. 22, 2015

Kentucky authorities charge nine people with involvement in organized crime ring selling stolen bourbon and anabolic steroids; smugglers, led by Gilbert Curtsinger, worked at bourbon distilleries they stole liquor from. MORE

Apr. 22, 2015

Manhattan man Manuel Israel is charged on 36 counts, including robbery as a hate crime, for attacking and robbing six women of Chinese descent in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood. MORE

Apr. 18, 2015

Federal authorities are expected to use Federal Bureau of Investigation sting of Robert V Gentile, for illegal firearms sale, as leverage against him in an ongoing investigation into the 1990 heist of $500 million in art from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; investigators believe Gentile knows whereabouts of the stolen art works. MORE

Apr. 16, 2015

Nick Bilton Disruptions column notes rise of car thefts using electronic devices to simulate or override key fobs; describes attempt on his car using simple device that connects with owner's key fob, and his subsequent decision to put his keys in his freezer as protective measure. MORE

Apr. 11, 2015

Secret Service Officer Arthur Baldwin is suspended following his arrest on first-degree attempted burglary charges. MORE

Apr. 9, 2015

British police are searching for gang that stole cash and gems from safe deposit boxes in London's jewelry district in major heist. MORE

Apr. 4, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column; investigators with New York City Police Dept's Grand Larceny Division are confounded by series of robberies in NoLIta and Midtown that some people suspect are being perpetrated by the same person, but seem to lack an obvious pattern. MORE

Mar. 31, 2015

Some of the 20,000 editions seized two years ago from the private library of Marcello Dell’Utri had been removed “in a manner and at a time still unknown.” MORE

Mar. 27, 2015

Police arrest two suspects in connection with rape of elderly nun during robbery of convent school in India. MORE

Mar. 16, 2015

Detroit's tough crackdown on scrap metal scavenging is eliminating means of subsistence for many of city's most impoverished residents who sell metal for quick cash; decades of scavenging has left tens of thousands of buildings irreparably damaged, and has been major cause of blight in several neighborhoods; residents, lawmakers and police have all joined effort to shut down underground trade (Series: Ruin and Renewal). MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Elderly nun is raped during robbery of convent school in West Bengal, India; thieves made off with about $9,000 in cash and valuables. MORE

Mar. 14, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column revisits case of James Kiernan and Jordan Martinez, onetime auxiliary police officers accused of committing a strong-arm robbery in East Harlem; notes that widening investigation shows the men may have been involved in several other robberies. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

More than a dozen heavily armed thieves attack two armored vans carrying jewels on highway connecting Paris and Lyon in France, stealing gems valued at about $9.7 million. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Vatican gives few answers regarding mysterious offer by unknown man to sell back documents written by Michelangelo that were stolen from archive in St Peter’s Basilica in 1997. MORE

Mar. 8, 2015

Tip column offers tips from security consultants about how drive evasively when trying to escape a kidnapping or robbery. MORE

Mar. 7, 2015

Police in California are investigating theft of cruffin recipe, signature croissant-muffin hybrid, along with 230 other recipes, from Mr Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco. MORE

Mar. 7, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column recounts downfall of James Kiernan, New York City auxiliary police officer who, along with former Auxiliary Officer Jordan Martinez, was arrested on charges of beating and robbing a deliveryman in Spanish Harlem. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Water faucets are stolen from new headquarters of Germany's foreign intelligence service in Berlin, causing leaks and water damage. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

American amputee sprinter Ranjit Steiner is sidelined from training for Paralympic Games after his prosthetic leg is stolen. MORE

Mar. 2, 2015

The burglary took place early Sunday, and the thieves were in and out of the castle, southeast of Paris, in about seven minutes – the time from when the alarm was set off to when the police arrived. MORE

Mar. 1, 2015

Artworks stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990, including Rembrandt painting Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, are still missing as 25th anniversary of robbery approaches; FBI investigators still hope to recover works, though most of their suspects are already dead. MORE